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J.J. Abrams project officially at NBC

Spy drama from Warners, Bad Robot sparked bidding war

It's official: NBC is in the J.J. Abrams business.

The network has closed a deal with Warner Bros. and Abrams' Bad Robot for a spy drama Abrams co-wrote with Josh Reims.

The spec sparked a bidding war when it hit the marketplace last week, with ABC, NBC and CBS all in hot pursuit until NBC clinched a deal Wednesday night, handing the drama a pilot commitment with a big penalty attached.

The show, which revolves around two spies working together who also are husband and wife, returns Abrams to the spy arena, which he mined with his ABC series "Alias."

It marks Abrams' first collaboration with NBC where the potential series could join the spy dramedy "Chuck," also from WBTV.

The first project Abrams co-created under his rich deal with WBTV, the sci-fi drama "Fringe," also was written on spec and sparked a bidding war in fall 2007 before landing at Fox with a big series commitment.

Last month, Abrams received a presentation order from Fox for a half-hour project written by Mike Markowitz.

Reims first worked with Abrams on his WB Network series "Felicity" and was an executive producer alongside him on ABC's "What About Brian."

Reims, who most recently worked on ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" and "Dirty Sexy Money," is repped by UTA. Abrams is repped by WME.